Tanabata Matsuri
by DarkBlaze14
Summary: It's the night of the Star Festival in the feudal era, and Kagome is all smiles until an old name comes up. Fluffy Inukag oneshot. (Set after the conclusion of the Final Act.)


An early July sun was retreating below the horizon, saying its last goodbyes to those who cared to bid it farewell. A calm shade of orange had spread through the feudal sky like watercolor on paper, casting a subtle glow over a loved little village below. Within it, Kagome sat inside a small hut, adorned with the priestess outfit that had been growing on her for some time. She had just come in from collecting herbs.

As she was rummaging through her findings, the twin daughters of Miroku and Sango shot through the doorway, carrying a brush with ink and a small slip of rice paper. "Lady Kagome!" one of them exclaimed, "It's almost sundown! Won't you make a wish?"

Kagome giggled, realizing the young ones wouldn't understand the ironic circumstances. "Of course." she replied with a warm smile, accepting the materials. She only thought for a moment before stroking her heart's desire across the paper, which wasn't thought up with any sort of rationality. Her newfound blissful life made it difficult for her to care.

Outside, a significant crowd had gathered around some bamboo branches, from which dozens of notes were hung. Two figures sat separated from the mass, their backs to humanity, projecting their gazes toward the beautiful sunset and the rolling plains before them. A slow, worn voice flowed through the air, "I presume ye have never celebrated anything like this, Inuyasha?"

"Of course not." the hanyou replied, "What's the big deal, anyways? What's so special about today?"

"Tonight is the night of the Star Festival." Kaede explained, "Legend has it that Orihime, a deity represented by the Weaver Star, felt that she could never find true love due to her strenuous work. That caused her much distress, and her father noticed. Thus, he arranged for her to meet with Hikoboshi, the Cowherd Star. The two stars fell madly in love, and married soon after. However, their marriage hindered their work, as Orihime stopped weaving, and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to roam the Heavens. Orihime's father grew irritated, and decided to separate the two by the Amanogawa, only allowing them to see each other once a year. Their meeting is tonight." She turned her head to the hanyou after an uncharacteristic silence, "Are ye even listening, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah, yeah. Stars fell in love. Got separated. Whatever." He frowned into his fist, which supported his head weighted by two solemn eyes. "It just kinda' reminds me of how I fell for Kikyou all those years ago."

Kaede's brow raised at such an open confession, but not a hint of shock was present in her voice. "She spoke of ye more than anyone in the world. Only to I, of course, but even at a young age, I could tell how happy ye made her."

"There was a time when I would've followed her anywhere in the world. Now I just-" A disturbance in the grass behind them made Inuyasha's ear twitch, and he looked to see Kagome standing there with a sympathetic smile. His eyes widened, and he held out his hands, fully prepared to be flung into the ground at any moment. However, the priestess merely nodded, and walked away without speaking. The hanyou's arms dropped, "Kagome..."

"I'd go after her, if I were ye..." Kaede chuckled, but shifted her gaze to realize that Inuyasha was already on his way. In fact, he walked as if he couldn't control himself - as if the summer breeze was carrying him to his wife. "I suppose some things never change..."

Inuyasha found Kagome sitting beneath a tree on the opposite side of the village, looking up at the newly-formed moon in the sky. The hanyou's heart grew heavy, which complicated his search for words. "I'm... I'm sorry you heard that..."

"No, I'm sorry." the priestess intervened, "I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation."

Inuyasha's head dropped, and he took his place on the grass next to her. "No, I mean, really. I know it makes you upset."

Kagome hid her eyes, which would have given the truth away. "It's okay. I learned a long time ago not to think of it like that."

The hanyou sensed her deception, but allowed his silence to make that point for him. He only spoke up after he was sure she would listen, "Ya' know, I had a lot of time to think in those three years without you. And one of the biggest things I realized was that, yeah, I loved Kikyou. She was the first woman I ever felt that way about." He looked to Kagome, who wasn't as hostile toward his words as he had predicted. He continued, "But, at the same time, there have only been two women in my life who cared for me as I am now - as a half-demon. The first was my mother, and the second was you, Kagome."

She glanced at him, and returned his smile with a hint of suspicion. "Well, I'm not sure if you're being serious, but you definitely got better at faking it if you aren't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" His expression contoured with indignation for a moment, but released soon after. He sighed, "Look, if ya' don't believe me, that's fine. But what I'm trying to say is, I've never loved anyone the way I do you. And that _includes_ Kikyou." Tension set in his body as those last words escaped, his face turning redder by the second. However, all of that became insignificant once Kagome laid her head against his shoulder.

"That's all I've ever wanted to hear." she gushed, embarrassed by her actions once more. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I never handle that topic well, even after all this time. I thought I had gotten over it..."

He wrapped his arm around her, "Well, the good thing is that it doesn't really matter anymore. I have you now, and you're all I need."

Kagome sat up, and adjusted herself so that she could pull on one of Inuyasha's ears. "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with my husband?"

Inuyasha shook her off, and spoke with a clenched fist, _"Hey! I don't know what-!"_

Kagome giggled, "Calm down, boy. I'm kidding." She positioned her head against him again, beaming at the familiar touch of the Fire-Rat's robe.

"Yeah, _whatever_. Sheesh." The hanyou pulled her close again, and the two lovers stargazed together for quite some time. After a while, lutes and bamboo sticks rang out from behind them, creating cheerful songs to reflect the happy times. Nearly the whole village was up and dancing about, but the couple stayed put, relishing each other's touch. "And just so you know," Inuyasha eventually asserted, "I _do_ know what you're sacrificing to be here with me. Don't think I take that for granted."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, _come on_. You were born in a crazy advanced era where everything's so convenient... I could tell that just from the few times I went there." A rare warmth had filled his voice, "I don't have a soft bed for you here, or a new bi-cycle, or all that amazing food... the best I can give you is me."

Kagome's heart fluttered, sending waves of joy through her body. She looked to the hanyou again, "Well, do you want to know what _I_ realized in those three years?" He nodded, so she explained further, "I realized that none of that stuff really mattered to me if I couldn't share it with you anymore. When I'm here, I don't need money, I don't need technology, and I don't need time. All I need is _you_. It was hard to leave my family behind, sure, but it's times like these that convince me I made the right choice." She wrapped her arms around his abdomen, "Plus, I'd take riding on your back over a bike any day."

 _"Easy for you to say..."_ Inuyasha mumbled.

"Don't ruin the moment."

"Right..." he replied, rolling his eyes. "Hey, Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you wish for earlier?"

Kagome stretched her legs out, and then brought her knees to her chest. She swept some hair to the side of her face. "If you really want to know... I wished that I could stay with you forever." She admitted, forming another bright smile. "What about you?"

"Same thing." Inuyasha placed his hands behind him, and leaned back so that he could see more of the stars shining down upon them. "Do you think it'll come true?"

Their eyes met for a moment, gold to hazel, and the two were thus pulled closer. Their lips connected just as the wind picked up, sending lively leaves and delicate sunflowers swirling all around them. Inuyasha placed his hand on the back of Kagome's head, mentally absorbing her presence, her scent - her everything.

Kagome was just happy to be where she belonged. She allowed her hand to drift to the hanyou's strong chest, which bore the heart that cared for her so. When the two finally parted, she ran her fingers through his thick, silver hair, and gave him a satisfied wink:

 _ _"So far, so good."__

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, everyone! So, this has been my first ever Inuyasha fic, and the first ever fic I've written outside of the Sonic fandom. I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Honestly, I'm a little nervous putting this out there, since I only got into the Inuyasha fandom a couple of months ago. But, I fell in love with the anime (the first anime I've ever watched, I might add), and ever since I finished the Final Act, it's felt like I've had a gaping hole in my soul, haha. So, I decided to start writing, and this little scene above happened.**

 **I hope to do longer, chapter-based stories for this fandom in the future (I already have an idea or two!), but for now, this oneshot will have to do.**

 **Reviews are always appreciated and welcome! Thanks for reading!**


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